We love, love, love profiteroles! Filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce they are a perfect dessert. Preheat oven to 400. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. On the stove bring 3/4 cup water to a boil, add 6 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of salt. Cook...

Decadent chocolate desserts that are sinfully easy to make are dangerous. This one is worth the splurge. The secret is in buying the best chocolate that your budget can afford. We watch for special pricing on our favorite brand (Valrhona) and stock up. Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding 8 oz best quality bittersweet chocolate 2...

Unless you are an Ann Rice, Steven King or Stephenie Meyer fan on the hunt for your favorite vampire, you might be wondering what kind of twisted person cruises a cemetery for pleasure? With Halloween fast approaching we thought it would be fun to find some ghoulish outdoor inspiration for a daily walk. And, of...

At the end of the summer the farm near us offers pick your own tomatoes for $1.00 a pound. Last year we hauled home fifty pounds, this year sixty pounds- trust me, that is a lot of tomatoes. It’s hard not to laugh at ourselves as we figure out what to do with the...

Pete Wells, in the New York Times, downgraded the restaurant Daniel in New York City from four to three stars. In part, he says, “for turning its best face away from the unknowns, the first-timers, the birthday splurgers, the tourists.” In the book, Bitches on a Budget, without naming the restaurant, I chronicled just such...

What’s a Victory Garden? We’d heard the expression, but we’d never given it much thought, except as an expression of triumph of woman over nature. After all, anyone who’s ever planted, nurtured, and harvested a successful vegetable garden knows it’s a war:You vs. Weather. You vs. Rabbits. You vs. Cutworms. You vs. Poaching Neighbors....

Whiskey is all the rage. Watered down or otherwise, we’re big whiskey drinkers. Not to brag or anything, but we were way ahead of the blade with the complete tutorial we gave you in our first book, Bitches on a Budget, but just in case you’ve forgotten the lesson, here is an abbreviated primer on all things whiskey. (Pay attention,...

We have a complaint. Truth be told we have lots of complaints, but we’re on a ranting diet and are limiting ourselves to one really good rant a day. We’ll keep this one short and sweet. There is a gender gap in gizmo gear and we’re sick of it. Have you noticed how many gizmos,...

We’ve been thinking about shoes and why we love them. Why is it we have so many pairs and they are all so different? (One might argue that the twelve pair of basic black heels in our closet are all the same, but they’d be missing their complex nuances: the slightly different heel heights, subtly...

Mouth watering. Right? Stuffed artichokes are the best! To make these little babies, combine finely grated high quality parmesan and pecorino cheeses along with fresh bread crumbs, salt, pepper, a dash of garlic powder and freshly chopped oregano. Use 2 parts pecorino to 1 part parmesan and an equal amount of bread crumbs. Trim the tops...

Could green, frugal and humane be the modern cook’s psychic tisane? Almost nothing makes me feel so virtuous as using up leftovers from the fridge. And, for no rational reason, it feels doubly virtuous using them for a meatless Monday meal. A few days ago I over estimated the amount of kidney, black, cannellini and garbanzo...

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Rosalyn Hoffman is the author of Smart Mama, Smart Money, Bitches on a Budget, and Smart Mamas’ Guide to Afterschool Activities (NAL/Penguin releases). Known as the ‘lifestyle guru’, she is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and was a featured insider on the Daily Beast Buzz Board. In addition to writing for online social media outlets, she has an engaged and active Facebook and Twitter audience that number well over 120,000 followers. A retail and marketing...

Chic and cheap eats for a hot summer day. Leeks in mustard vinaigrette, a bottle of crisp white wine, a loaf of crusty bread. Does it get better? -cut off tough outer stems and steam small leeks for 10 minutes until tender-make vinaigrette: 1/4 cup olive oil, two teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, salt and pepper to taste-plate leeks, pour dressing over while still warm. Chill until serving.

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Who wouldn't want to cure cancer, autism, AIDS?-- but it's tough to know if the charity you're contributing to is funneling the funds to those in need or into the pockets of the fundraiser. Before you give to a cause that 'sounds' good, be smart with your hard earned money and check it out. Here are a few links that might help: www.charitywatch.org;www.guidestar.org;www.charitynavigator.org